US bolsters arsenal against North Korean strike

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says America plans to boost its missile defense system due to concerns about the possible nuclear capabilities of North Korea. Picture: Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP Source: Getty Images

THE UNITED States will add 14 new ground-based missile interceptors to bolster its arsenal to "stay ahead" of Pyongyang's provocative nuclear threats, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel 14 more interceptors would be stationed in Alaska, increasing by almost half the 30 already deployed along the California and Alaska coastlines. The aim is to have them in place by 2017.

North Korea has threatened to unleash a second Korean War - backed by nuclear weapons - in response to UN sanctions imposed after its third atomic test in February and joint South Korea-US military manoeuvres.

As tensions spiral, the North fired short-range missiles into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) Friday, Yonhap news agency said, after leader Kim Jong-Un previously oversaw a live-fire drill near the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South.

Hagel said the defense upgrade was designed to "stay ahead of the threat" from the North Korean regime, which claims to possess missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.

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"The United States has missile defense systems in place to protect us from limited ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) attacks," Hagel said.

"But North Korea in particular has recently made advances in its capabilities and is engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, uses binoculars to look at the South's territory from an observation post at the military unit on Jangjae islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea.

"The US move may draw another escalation by the North, which may take countermeasures against the latest US move," he said.

Hideshi Takesada, a Japanese defence expert and former professor at South Korea's Yonsei University, said the US move showed its "seriousness about its countermeasures against the North's missile threat."

He added: "With the planned radar (in Japan), the US early warning system will be complete and can cover the Korean peninsula entirely."

Baek Seung-Joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul told AFP the challenge for South Korea was different due to its proximity to the North.

"It is extremely difficult for South Korea to intercept missiles from the North because its geographical depth is too short. Instead, South Korea is focusing on building up its ability to destroy the North's missile launching facilities."

State television shows young North Koreans signing up to join the army, amid increasing tension on the Korean peninsula. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

The US military is also flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers on training missions over South Korea to highlight Washington's commitment to defend an ally amid the rising tensions.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said one B-52 flew over South Korea on March 8, and the deputy defense secretary, Ashton Carter, said during a visit to Seoul that another bomber mission is scheduled for later today.

B-52 bombers are capable of launching nuclear-armed cruise missiles, but Little said those participating in the Korean exercise are not armed with nuclear weapons.

The use of Air Force warplanes as part of an annual US-South Korean military exercise called Foal Eagle is not unusual. But the Pentagon used the occasion to draw attention to the role B-52 bombers play as part of an American nuclear "umbrella" over South Korea and Japan - both of which feel threatened by North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

As the US beefs up its defence in the wake of increasingly provocative threats from North Korea of a "pre-emtive" nuclear strike, US Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter promised to provide South Korea with every military resource under its umbrella at a time of heightened tensions.

Carter was in Seoul on the second leg of a four-nation tour of US allies and partners in Asia including Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

"We remain steadfast to our commitment to extended deterrence offered by the US nuclear umbrella," Carter said after talks with South Korean Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin.

"We'll ensure all of our resources will be available to our alliance," he was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated dramatically since the North conducted its third nuclear test last month.

The "Yun Feng" (Cloud Peak) missile has been developed by the state-run Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology and each has a range of over 1000 kilometres, said the Taipei-based China Times, citing unnamed military sources.

The missiles will be deployed in the mountains in central Taiwan from next year to aim at military targets, including airports and missile bases, along China's southeastern coast, the report said.

Taiwan has been researching missiles of this type to counter threats from China after it fired missiles near the island in 1996, according to the report.

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